Wand of Casting
A Primal Power Tap Introduced to the Commonwealth in 1465, the Wand of Casting (WoC) was an entirely new concept in magic. The device provided the power to activate any spell already known and memorized by the user. As long as the wand had power, the user could cast that spell as often as they wanted. This led to the rise of Wandism, a practice of casting spells entirely through charged wands. Further, the nature of the wand – and the magic within it – made it sensitive to people who hadn't trained in casting. This WoC property was quietly introduced by House Stonehearth and absolutely took the non-arcane world by storm. The Stonehearth Marquisate has authorized WoCs for sale throughout the Commonwealth – but sales are strictly forbidden outside those boundaries. One must be certified as a resident within their jurisdiction; either the Marquisate, the Lantan Union or the Halruaan Kingdom, to qualify for purchase. Energizing a WoC Wands of Casting come in a myriad of configurations. The primary factor affecting the utility and cost of a wand is how it is powered. This affects per-spell power and total power, but also affects how and where it can be used. Quasimagic power The entry-level wand had no intrinsic power source, instead relying on the regional mythallar. Price is dependent on power, with increased draw requiring greater materials and safeguards. Quasimagic-powered WoCs only reach level five as that is that is the maximum power projected by the mythallars. As of 1489 DR, mythallars have only been implemented in the Marquisate, but the marquisate now has full coverage. There is overwhelming demand, and near-future plans, to implement mythallars in the rest of the Commonwealth. Arcane Energized Crystal power This was a wide-range of models, with expense varying on durability, style, and level power. Initial models maxed at level-6 though that was expected to go up in the "near future." Notably, a channeling crystal could be used, effectively turning this into a modular "permanently enchanted" device. Publicly available devices only range to a Level-7 spell power. There are higher range AEC-powered wands, but those are special access only. Containment refers to the maximum charge power of a fully energized crystal. Exceeding the containment rating limit introduces a risk of instability where shock or vibration may cause explosion. There are specialized devices, not necessarily wands, with containment ratings higher than 250 – but at that point, it's less expensive to purchase a channeling crystal. Standardized crystal production adheres to class ratings but custom or enthusiast-produced crystals may not necessarily have the same quality controls. Class One: containment rating 10 Note: a level-7 spell discharges 7 spell points out of a fully charged 10-point crystal. The user would have 3 spell points remaining on the crystal before having to reload. Class Two: containment rating 25 Class Three: containment rating 50 Class Four: containment rating 100 Class Five: containment rating 250 Arcane Energized Crystal + Quasimagic This hybrid model could utilize mythallars when in range, or crystals if outside. The switching mechanism was manual on entry-level models of this type, with abilities to set it to automatically use the mythallars if in range and a level-5 or lower cast. Base Price: the AEC-powered wand. Depending on the spell power of the wand, add: Permanently Enchanted, Weave Wands of Casting are not limited to primal power. Some WoCs are made utilizing the standard capacitor Weave power matrix. Similar to mythallar and AEC-powered wands, a weave-tuned WOC is rated for a max level per cast, and the Weave-equivalent of the the containment rating (the max level of charges total, per cycle long rest). The recharge process, throttled by the Weave itself, essentially gives a consistent-rate trickle charge capable of refilling a completely discharged capacitor over an 8-hour period. Less than total discharge would be "prorated" for recharging. A half-discharged capacitor would recharge in four hours. A 5/25 rating meant a single cast was capped at level-5 spells, with a 25 the maximum number of spell-level castable per cycle. A 5/25-rated wand, then, could cast any level-5 spell known by the user 5 times before depletion for that charge cycle, or a level-4 spell 6 times (with a level 1 to spare). Example: the 5/25 Weave WoC would price 5 * 25 * 200 = 25,000 gp. This would produce a standard metal wand, model, manufacturer and serial number engraved, and an insulating grip (likely knurled wood). * Most Weave-tuned WoC wands with a permanent power enchant are designed for Weave casters who are native or have moved to the Commonwealth. In very rare circumstances, House Stonehearth may make an export exemption when gifting such a wand to a trusted ally (usually a prince or above on the noble scale). What happens with trusted, high-value foreign assets of the Sergeants-at-Arms is classified... * Weave-based wands, like their primal cousins, are sold with a level-7 spell cap. * An attenuated Weave caster can discern how many charges are left in the capacitor by holding the wand for 10 seconds. * While seemingly unnecessary on the surface, and consistent with the nature of the Weave, cantrips could be cast through the wand all day long. If something happened that prevented the caster from utilizing their own power, such as unwittingly drinking Spellslayer wine, they could still use the wand to cast. Permanently Enchanted, Primal/Capacitor with ratings in single cast and total point pool per hour. Perma-chanted, Primal/Channeling X: could cast at maximum rated power, up to "X" times per round. The usual limit was "1" but there were models that could cast multiple "9"'s a round. Special Features Advance-Cast (AC) Wands A slightly more complicated build allowed lower-level spells to be cast at higher level. Similar to the common caster practice, such a wand had similar restrictions: to be able to cast a level-1 spell as a level-2, the wand has to be a level-2 device and built with the AC capacity. Most WoCs are also AC wands. In the rare case one finds a non-AC wand for sale, deduct 10% of the price. Flex-Cast (FC) Wands An FC wand allows those who are capable of metamagic or similar spell modification to do so through the WoC. Each meta modification counts as a cast of one spell level higher than the original cast. Multi-Cast (MC) Wands An MC wand has a faster recharge capacity, allowing multiple uses in a single round. MC ratings are listed xN, where N is the number of times the wand may be discharged in a round. Enhanced X (eX) Wands The Enhanced model WoCs worked with the attuned user to be a memory assist. The "X" in the model type was the number of additional spells that could be memorized and cast through the wand. Extremely valuable to Weave-based casters. Special Builds Each special feature on a wand is a substantial increase in price. Two or three adds can be done by four different arcane weapons-labs in the Marquisate. For those who can mortgage their imperial palace, it is possible to safely mix all four special features on a single wand. This nightmare of production is capable only by the Stonehearth College of Arms arcane lab. It is said the Marquis and Marchioness are so equipped... Learning to use a Wand of Casting Casters take a few hours to acclimate. '''Wandism: '''a non-caster can learn to use a Wand of Casting as the "Wandism" feat. This, however, is controversial in wizarding circles... Dedicated function vs a Casting Assistant Dedicated function devices, such as a wand of fireballs or magic missiles, is fairly easy to create, imprinting a function. The main keys are actuation method and recharge rate. Using the Primal Method, this usually works out to whether it can be used once per round or multiple times per round. Casting Assistants are amplifiers which need to be shaped and directed by the user. Category:DM/GM Notes Category:Player-Character Notes Category:Equipment